I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4313 

To establish a procedure for resolving claims to certain rights-of-way. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 5, 2016 

Mr. COOK (for himself, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. STEWART, and 

Mr. TIPTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a procedure for resolving claims to certain 

rights-of-way. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, AND PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Historic Routes Preservation Act’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Act of July 26, 1866 (43 U.S.C. 932), 

8 provided for an open-ended grant of ‘‘the right of 

9 way for the construction of highways over public 

10 lands, not reserved for public use.’’. 


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1 (2) The purpose of that Act was to encourage 

2 the opening, expansion, settlement, use and develop3 ment of the American West. Rights-of-way estab4 lished by use over land in the public domain are not 

5 terminated or abandoned by subsequent Federal 

6 grants of the property underlying the rights-of-way 

7 and Federal attempts to reacquire the rights-of-way 

8 or reservation by the Federal Government. Instead, 

9 all rights-of-way accepted before October 21, 1976, 

10 continue as easements that can be used by the pub11 lic. 

12 (3) Unlike rights-of-way granted under 

13 FLPMA, the grant of R.S. 2477 rights-of-way was 

14 complete on its face, and no formalities, such as no15 tice, entry, license, lease, application, deed, patent, 

16 hearing, or formal public written or oral acceptance 

17 were required to establish public rights-of-way under 

18 R.S. 2477. That law simply required some limited 

19 degree of construction activity on the land necessary 

20 or advisable to enable passage over it or mere public 

21 usage for some undefined amount of time. 

22 (4) When early R.S. 2477 right-of-way grants 

23 were made and accepted, the United States had no 

24 laws or regulations governing the establishment or 

25 use of roads and rights-of-way; so the territories, 


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1 then the States, provided early interpretive guidance 

2 on the action the ‘‘use’’ or ‘‘construction activity’’— 

3 necessary to accept and establish the scope of those 

4 rights-of-way. 

5 (5) Some rights-of-way established under R.S. 

6 2477 were easily identified, including thoroughfares 

7 that connected settlements, towns and trade centers, 

8 postal routes, routes for inter-territory commerce, 

9 and the like. But the rights-of-way for lesser known, 

10 or lesser used, rights-of-way (perhaps established as 

11 single-person trails, horse trails, mining trails, fur 

12 trade routes, wagon routes, and other similar or 

13 lesser uses) have been more difficult to identify; and 

14 special interest organizations, business and govern15 ment have argued for various interpretations regard16 ing the establishment, acceptance and scope of R.S. 

17 2477 rights-of-way. Those disputes have often re18 sulted in unsuccessful settlement negotiations and 

19 expensive time-consuming litigation to establish R.S. 

20 2477 rights-of-way. 

21 (6) After decades of lawsuits, case-by-case ne22 gotiations, law review articles, expert commentary, 

23 and various issued and reissued government policies 

24 and procedures on point, there is still no consistent 

25 definition or agreement regarding what evidence or 


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1 action is required to establish a R.S. 2477 right-of2 way, whether State or Federal law governs R.S. 

3 2477 grants, and what the scope of R.S. 2477 

4 rights-of-way are today. The uncertainty may be 

5 due, in substantial part, to the fact that rights cre6 ated by past laws, such as R.S. 2477, are generally 

7 interpreted according to the understanding of termi8 nology at the time of passage: The historic meaning 

9 of the statutory language as determined with ref10 erence to the surrounding environment and events of 

11 the day. 

12 (7) Although court decisions have provided 

13 much of the guidance in quieting title to rights-of14 way under R.S. 2477, they have often incorporated 

15 differing State law to define the acceptance and 

16 scope of R.S. 2477 rights-of-way, resulting in incon17 sistent outcomes under similar facts. There is still 

18 sentiment, apparent from comments by Federal par19 ties in R.S. 2477 litigation, that interpretation and 

20 application of R.S. 2477 should be left exclusively to 

21 the Federal Government. 

22 (8) Apparently intending to bring some cer23 tainty to R.S. 2477 right-of-way claims, in 1988 

24 Secretary of the Interior Hodel established a De25 partment of the Interior policy that would verify 


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1 R.S. 2477 rights-of-way and allow the Department 

2 to record them in Department land records if— 

3 (A) they were not reserved public lands at 

4 the time they were put into public use; 

5 (B) there was some minimal ‘‘construc6 tion’’ to enable public passage, such as clearing 

7 vegetation or removing obstructions; and 

8 (C) the R.S. 2477 route was open to public 

9 use by pedestrians, pack animal, wagons or mo10 torized vehicles. 

11 (9) Nevertheless, the policy did not authorize 

12 the Department of the Interior to adjudicate appli13 cations for R.S. 2477 rights-of-way. 

14 (10) A more restrictive approach evolved under 

15 Secretary of the Interior Babbitt that, among other 

16 restrictions, substantially limited motorized vehicle 

17 access to Federal lands and required more than 

18 mere ‘‘use’’ to establish ‘‘construction’’ necessary to 

19 accept a R.S. 2477 right-of-way grant. Accordingly, 

20 the Federal Bureau of Land Management (the 

21 BLM) was required to determine whether ‘‘construc22 tion’’ equivalent to building road structures had oc23 curred in those instances where a R.S. 2477 right24 of-way was claimed. 


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1 (11) Apparently in response to Secretary 

2 Babbitt’s strict policy, Congress enacted a tem3 porary moratorium, followed by section 108 of the 

4 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, 

5 which states, in part, that ‘‘No final rule or regula6 tion of any agency of the Federal Government per7 taining to the recognition, management, or validity 

8 of a right-of-way pursuant to Revised Statute 2477 

9 (43 U.S.C. 932) shall take effect unless expressly 

10 authorized by an Act of Congress subsequent to the 

11 date of enactment of this Act.’’. That law has been 

12 determined to be permanent. 

13 (12) Uncertainty leading to litigation and other 

14 expensive forms of dispute resolution regarding pub15 lic acceptance and right to use R.S. 2477 rights-of16 way has persisted for more than 100 years. Al17 though Congress in the early 1990s received a report 

18 from the Department of the Interior suggesting a 

19 Federal administrative process was necessary to for20 mally recognize validly accepted R.S. 2477 rights-of21 way, that process has not been implemented and 

22 there is limited, inconsistent action by Federal ad23 ministrative agencies and departments to determine 

24 whether a R.S. 2477 grant has been accepted by the 

25 public, thus indicating an apparent preference by the 


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1 Federal Government to have the courts decide R.S. 

2 2477 claims. 

3 (13) It is in the best interest of the public and 

4 government to establish consistent, clear and conclu5 sive direction to timely evaluate and officially recog6 nize valid R.S. 2477 claims, to provide a legislative 

7 framework for objectively achieving those ends with8 in clearly limited timeframes and with minimal exec9 utive and administrative involvement, and to mini10 mize costs and delays typically associated with liti11 gating R.S. 2477 claims. 

12 (c) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to achieve 

13 judicial and administrative efficiency, and to reduce costs 

14 typically associated with resolving R.S. 2477 right-of-way 

15 claims by establishing a deadline for filing those claims, 

16 establishing mandatory procedures for considering and 

17 acting on those claims, and requiring Federal administra18 tive action to finally resolve those claims. 

19 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

20 As used in this Act: 

21 (1) ABANDON OR ABANDONMENT.—The terms 

22 ‘‘abandon’’ and ‘‘abandonment’’ mean normal action 

23 by the governing body of a claimant taken at a pub24 lic meeting pursuant to notice that declares all right, 


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1 title and claim to any right-of-way or right-of-way 

2 grant under R.S. 2477 is relinquished. 

3 (2) ACCEPTANCE OR ACCEPTED.—The terms 

4 ‘‘acceptance’’ and ‘‘accepted’’ mean the construction 

5 and continuous public use for passage over a R.S. 

6 2477 right-of-way. 

7 (3) AUTHORITY OR AUTHORIZED OFFICER.— 

8 The terms ‘‘Authority’’ and ‘‘Authorized Officer’’ 

9 mean the Secretary’s designee in the Federal depart10 ment, agency, enclave, reservation or installation 

11 under the Secretary’s jurisdiction. 

12 (4) CLAIM.—The term ‘‘claim’’ means the writ13 ten document required under section 3, in form es14 tablished by the Secretary, Authority or Authorized 

15 Officer, which shall be made available for use by any 

16 claimant not later than 30 days after the effective 

17 date of this Act. 

18 (5) CLAIMANT.—The term ‘‘claimant’’ means 

19 any person, including a State, State political subdivi20 sion, city, town, county, government parish, com21 pany, or individual, asserting the existence and pub22 lic acceptance of a right-of-way under R.S. 2477. 

23 (6) CONSTRUCTION.—The term ‘‘construction’’ 

24 means the physical activity reasonably necessary, ad25 visable or desirable to allow continuous public use 


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1 over a highway according to the intended mode of 

2 travel or transportation. Maintenance activities or 

3 the use of any tools or equipment may, but are not 

4 required to, establish construction. 

5 (7) CONTINUOUS PUBLIC USE.—The term ‘‘con6 tinuous public use’’ means the use by the public for 

7 passage as often as generally regarded by the public 

8 to be convenient or necessary, during any length of 

9 time, whether continuous, sporadic, interrupted or 

10 discontinued, and as the character or location of the 

11 use has changed from October, 1866, to October 21, 

12 1976, to meet the exigencies of increased travel in 

13 light of the traditional passage uses. 

14 (8) DAY.—The term ‘‘day’’ means 24-hour pe15 riod immediately following 12 o’clock midnight in 

16 the time zone where the longest lineal part of the 

17 claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way is located, excluding 

18 official Federal holidays. 

19 (9) EVIDENCE.—The term ‘‘evidence’’ means 

20 any item under section 4 that would be reliable, au21 thentic, probative and persuasive in Federal District 

22 Court civil litigation under the Federal Rules of Evi23 dence that are operative on the effective date of this 

24 Act. 


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1 (10) FLPMA.—The term ‘‘FLPMA’’ means 

2 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

3 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

4 (11) HIGHWAY.—The term ‘‘highway’’ means 

5 any road, way or other land surface route of travel 

6 that the public has the right of use for passage, 

7 whether by carriage, animal, foot, non-motorized or 

8 motorized vehicle. 

9 (12) PUBLIC.—The term ‘‘public’’ means peo10 ple, population, or community as a whole. 

11 (13) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

12 means land that is owned, controlled by, or subject 

13 to the jurisdiction of the Federal Government for the 

14 benefit of the public and not reserved at the time 

15 that the right-of-way was created. 

16 (14) R.S. 2477 RIGHT-OF-WAY GRANT.—The 

17 term ‘‘R.S. 2477 right-of-way grant’’ means an 

18 open-ended grant or dedication of land by the 

19 United States for rights-of-way allowing public use 

20 and passage, which could be accepted by construc21 tion or continuous public use before October 21, 

22 1976. 

23 (15) R.S. 2477.—The term ‘‘R.S. 2477’’ means 

24 that part of ‘‘An Act Granting the Right-of-Way to 

25 Ditch and Canal Owners Over the Public Lands and 


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1 for Other Purposes,’’ commonly called the Mining 

2 Act of 1866 (the Act of July 26, 1866, ch. 262, sec3 tion 8, 14, statutes 251, 253; 43 U.S.C. 932), stat4 ing ‘‘And be it further enacted, that the right of way 

5 for the construction of highways over public lands, 

6 not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted,’’ as 

7 that law continued in full force and effect until Oc8 tober 21, 1976. 

9 (16) RELINQUISHMENT AND DISCLAIMER.—The 

10 terms ‘‘relinquishment’’ and ‘‘disclaimer’’ mean any 

11 type of deed or equivalent document in form suitable 

12 for recordation, approved and issued by the Sec13 retary, Authority, or Authorized Officer, disclaiming 

14 and relinquishing the interest of the Federal Govern15 ment in a R.S. 2477 right-of-way that has been ac16 cepted pursuant to the provisions of this Act, and 

17 which documents the right of public passage over 

18 and within that right-of-way. 

19 (17) RESERVE OR RESERVED.—The terms ‘‘re20 serve’’ and ‘‘reserved’’— 

21 (A) mean action by the United States to 

22 withdraw land from the public domain and 

23 make it unavailable for appropriation under 

24 Federal public land laws, which requires dedica25 tion of that land by the United States to a parVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jan 06, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4313.IH H4313

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1 ticular public use, such as a park, forest, mili2 tary establishment, national monument, wilder3 ness area, Federal enclave, wildlife refuge, 

4 water diversion or impoundment, or government 

5 power generation, and such withdrawal, dedica6 tion, and use for the dedicated purpose occurs 

7 before the earlier of the R.S. 2477 right-of-way 

8 acceptance or October 21, 1976; and 

9 (B) do not include Wilderness Study Areas 

10 and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. 

11 (18) SCOPE.—The term ‘‘scope’’ means estab12 lished public use of the R.S. 2477 right-of-way as 

13 necessarily improved, expanded, realigned or relo14 cated before October 21, 1976, to meet the public 

15 convenience, safety, or exigencies of increased travel 

16 in light of its traditional right-of-way uses. Permis17 sible improvements, expansion, realignment or relo18 cation is determined according to the section 2(k) 

19 highway standards of the State where the longest 

20 lineal part of the right-of-way is located; or in the 

21 absence of such standards, ten feet on each side of 

22 the survey center line, subject to reduction according 

23 to the historic right-of-way width for the R.S. 2477 

24 right-of-way traditional uses as of the date of acVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Jan 06, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4313.IH H4313

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1 ceptance, and necessarily expanded according to the 

2 first sentence of this paragraph. 

3 (19) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

4 means the Secretary of the Federal department hav5 ing management jurisdiction over land owned or con6 trolled by the United States upon which a R.S. 2477 

7 right-of-way is claimed to be located. 

8 SEC. 3. PROCEDURE. 

9 (a) CLAIM AND LIMITATION OF ACTION.—A claimant 

10 asserting public acceptance of a right-of-way granted pur11 suant to R.S. 2477 must file a claim, which shall include 

12 supporting evidence and proof of the notice and reasonably 

13 attempted notice under subsection (c), within the 25-year 

14 period that shall commence to run on the next business 

15 day following the effective date of this Act. 

16 (b) PLACE OF FILING.— 

17 (1) GENERALLY.—Except as provided by para18 graph (2), the claim must be filed at the State or 

19 regional location as designated by the Secretary. 

20 (2) DEFENSE LAND.—If the land underlying 

21 the claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way is subject to the 

22 ownership or control of the United States Depart23 ment of Defense, evidence supporting the claim shall 

24 be filed with the commanding officer of the military 

25 installation or office having ownership or control of 


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1 the underlying land, or at such other location as des2 ignated by the Secretary. 

3 (c) NOTICE.—Claimant shall provide notice of the 

4 R.S. 2477 right-of-way claim by publishing a general sum5 mary of the claim, including the location and general de6 scription of the claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way, in a news7 paper authorized to publish public notice under the laws 

8 of the State where the longest lineal part of the claimed 

9 R.S. 2477 right-of-way is located, once per week for the 

10 two consecutive weeks immediately preceding the filing of 

11 the claim. Within the four consecutive weeks immediately 

12 following the filing of the claim, claimant shall additionally 

13 provide, or reasonably attempt to provide, written notice 

14 of the claim to all record owners of land underlying the 

15 claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way, except the Federal Gov16 ernment, and to all owners of land contiguous to each edge 

17 of that claimed right-of-way. Claimant’s reasonable at18 tempt to provide such written notice is sufficient addi19 tional notice under this subsection if claimant verifies the 

20 reasonable attempt under claimant’s written oath or affir21 mation to that effect filed with the Secretary where the 

22 claim is filed. 

23 (d) ABANDONMENT.—Failure to comply with sub24 sections (a), (b), and (c) is, on the first day following the 

25 time period in subsection (a), an automatic irrevocable 


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1 abandonment of any R.S. 2477 right-of-way that has not 

2 been established by final judgment in a court of competent 

3 jurisdiction or final enforceable settlement agreement be4 tween claimant and the United States. The continuance 

5 authorized by section 6(b) shall not apply to this sub6 section. 

7 (e) STATUE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any statute of limita8 tions for documenting the right-of-way after such reserva9 tion is hereby waived except as provided in subsection (a). 

10 SEC. 4. EVIDENCE AND FINAL DECISION. 

11 (a) BURDEN OF PROOF.—Claimant shall establish 

12 acceptance by a preponderance of the evidence. 

13 (b) PRESUMPTIONS.— 

14 (1) ACCEPTANCE CONCLUSIVELY AND FINALLY

15 ESTABLISHED.—Unless the land underlying the 

16 claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way was reserved before 

17 the earlier of construction of a trail, path, or other 

18 throughway on the right-of-way, or October 21, 

19 1976, acceptance (including continuous public use, 

20 location, construction and scope of the R.S. 2477 

21 right-of-way) shall be conclusively verified, proven, 

22 and established upon filing, under oath or affirma23 tion by claimant attesting to its authenticity and ac24 curacy, of— 


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1 (A) at least one type of evidence related to 

2 that right-of-way selected from subsection 

3 (c)(1); or 

4 (B) at least one type of evidence selected 

5 from each of two subparagraphs in subsection 

6 (c)(2) showing scope and acceptance before Oc7 tober 21, 1976. 

8 (2) COPIES AND HEARSAY IN DOCUMENTS.— 

9 Copies may be used as evidence in place of original 

10 documents if they are accompanied by a written dec11 laration, under oath by a custodian, owner, or au12 thor, that the copy is an accurate representation of 

13 the original document’s material terms. Hearsay 

14 contained in documents, or otherwise, is regarded as 

15 reliable, admissible, and probative for the purposes 

16 of this Act. 

17 (3) GRANT WITHDRAWAL.—Evidence produced 

18 by the United States that establishes the United 

19 States reserved the land underlying the alleged R.S. 

20 2477 right-of-way before its acceptance conclusively 

21 establishes withdrawal of the Federal grant for that 

22 right-of-way. 

23 (c) CATEGORIES OF EVIDENCE.—For the purposes of 

24 actions under this Act, the following rules apply to cat25 egories of evidence: 


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1 (1)(A) A center line or other survey done by the 

2 Federal Government or duly licensed land surveyor, 

3 applying generally accepted survey standards and 

4 procedures or Federal Bureau of Land Management 

5 Manual of Surveying Instructions applicable to sur6 veys before October 21, 1976, clearly showing the 

7 public use, control, construction, location, direction, 

8 beginning and end points, length, width and type of 

9 surface of the R.S. 2477 right-of-way as of a date 

10 certain. 

11 (B) Maps, plats, maintenance records including 

12 actual or estimated costs, photographs, GIS or glob13 al positioning data, or other computer-generated im14 ages showing the location of the R.S. 2477 right-of15 way, prepared, made, edited, kept, or relied on, gen16 erally or on a case-by-case basis, by any Federal, 

17 State, or local government, college, university, public 

18 or private organization historically, customarily or 

19 regularly engaged in the preparation, retention, 

20 analysis, or expert interpretation of contemporary or 

21 historic maps. 

22 (C) Historical or other records of government 

23 entities, or records constructed, obtained or kept by 

24 the government in the ordinary course of business, 

25 including, without limitation, Federal, State, local, 


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1 and territorial records, such as records of the United 

2 States Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, or 

3 Defense, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Serv4 ice, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil 

5 Conservation Service, Government Land office, Fed6 eral Centers or Enclaves, the Smithsonian Institu7 tion and Library of Congress. 

8 (2)(A) Historical records, other than those in9 cluded under subsection (c)(3), including original 

10 documents, authenticated copies, facsimiles, and 

11 computer-transmitted images reliably showing evi12 dence of construction (including tools used, if any), 

13 location (including dimensions), fixtures and other 

14 structures, or maintenance by a State or local gov15 ernment of the R.S. 2477 right-of-way under consid16 eration. 

17 (B) Written statements given under oath before 

18 a notary public, court recorder, judge or any other 

19 government official authorized by law to administer 

20 oaths, or otherwise authenticated, reciting reliable 

21 knowledge of the facts that establish the acceptance 

22 of the R.S. 2477 right-of-way under consideration. If 

23 this category of evidence is used, written statements 

24 by at least two persons shall be required. 


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1 (C) A title opinion prepared by a duly licensed 

2 title examiner prepared in accordance with generally 

3 accepted title standards, establishing title, location 

4 and dimensions of the R.S. 2477 right-of-way under 

5 consideration. 

6 (d) DETERMINATION OF ABANDONMENT.—Not later 

7 than 30 days after a R.S. 2477 right-of-way is conclusively 

8 established as accepted pursuant to this section, the Sec9 retary, Authority, or Authorized Officer shall determine, 

10 in writing, whether that right-of-way has been previously 

11 abandoned by claimant. Failure to make such written de12 termination within that 30-day period shall conclusively 

13 establish the right-of-way has not been abandoned. That 

14 determination by the Secretary, Authority or Authorized 

15 Officer, or the failure to make that determination, within 

16 the time specified by this subsection shall be a final agency 

17 action, subject to appeal as provided and limited by section 

18 5. 

19 (e) DISCLAIMER AND RELINQUISHMENT RE20 QUIRED.—Subject to subsection (d), not later than 60 

21 days after the evidence to establish a R.S. 2477 right-of22 way has been filed pursuant to this section, the Secretary, 

23 Authority, or Authorized Officer shall deliver or cause to 

24 be delivered to claimant a written document disclaiming 

25 and relinquishing the United States right and interest in 


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1 the R.S. 2477 right-of-way, which document and actions 

2 under this Act shall only be subject to review as provided 

3 and limited by section, and shall not be subject to quiet 

4 title proceedings under section or otherwise, or subject to 

5 any other judicial or administrative de novo, or on the 

6 record, reviews, claims, actions or proceedings. The dis7 claimer and relinquishment shall immediately be recorded 

8 in the public land records under the jurisdiction of the 

9 Secretary, and shall conclusively establish the public right 

10 to use the R.S. 2477 right-of-way. The disclaimer and re11 linquishment shall be in form to allow recording in State 

12 and local real estate records. 

13 (f) FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICE OF FINAL AGENCY

14 ACTION.—Notice of the action under subsection (e) shall 

15 be published once in the Federal Register not later than 

16 30 days after the delivery occurs as specified by that sub17 section. 

18 (g) REQUIREMENT TO TIMELY RECORD CENTERLINE

19 SURVEY.—A centerline survey of the R.S. 2477 right-of20 way disclaimed and relinquished by the United States pur21 suant to this Act shall be completed and filed by claimant 

22 with the Secretary, Authority, or Authorized Officer not 

23 later than 10 years after the time specified by section 3(a). 

24 (h) ABANDONMENT.—Failure by claimant to com25 plete and file a centerline survey as required by subsection 


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1 (g) shall be an abandonment of any and all rights to the 

2 R.S. 2477 right-of-way for which the relinquishment was 

3 issued. 

4 SEC. 5. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

5 (a) JURISDICTION.—Subject to section 4(e), any case 

6 or controversy arising under this Act shall be filed in the 

7 United States District Court located in the District within 

8 which the longest lineal segment of the claimed R.S. 2477 

9 right-of-way is located, which Federal Court shall have ex10 clusive jurisdiction to decide the case or controversy on 

11 the record regarding the claimed R.S. 2477 right-of-way, 

12 subject only to appeal or review on the record under Fed13 eral appellate court jurisdiction. 

14 (b) LIMITATION OF ACTION.—Cases shall be filed in 

15 the court specified by subsection (a) not later than 30 days 

16 after the publication specified by subsection 4(f). 

17 (c) PRIOR ADJUDICATION UNAFFECTED.—A final 

18 settlement, or final judgment in any court of competent 

19 jurisdiction before the effective date of this Act, where the 

20 United States was a party in determining rights to a R.S. 

21 2477 right-of-way shall not be affected by this Act. 

22 (d) ACTIONS TO QUIET TITLE UNAFFECTED.—Sub23 ject to the provisions of this section and section 4, includ24 ing the expiration of time periods specified therein, this 

25 Act shall apply to prohibit Federal court actions to quiet 


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1 R.S. 2477 titles that involve R.S. 2477 claims previously 

2 filed under this Act, where a disclaimer and relinquish3 ment are pending or have been issued. Any quiet title ac4 tion not prohibited by this paragraph must be filed on or 

5 before the date specified by section 3(a). 

6 SEC. 6. APPLICABLE LAW AND TIME EXTENSIONS. 

7 (a) APPLICATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAW.— 

8 This Act shall apply to conclusively establish the accept9 ance, scope, validity, or abandonment of a R.S. 2477 

10 right-of-way. From and after the date of enactment, the 

11 provisions of this Act will be supreme, preempt and control 

12 any inconsistency or conflict between provisions of this Act 

13 and State law in determining the acceptance, scope, valid14 ity and abandonment of a R.S. 2477 right-of-way. 

15 (b) DEADLINES.—Any deadline established by this 

16 Act shall be extended one time, for a maximum of 365 

17 days, for good cause stated in writing signed by claimant 

18 under oath or affirmation and delivered to the Secretary, 

19 Authority or Authorized Officer not less than 30 days be20 fore the deadline to be continued. 

21 SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION REQUIRED. 

22 Subject to section 2(d), not later than 90 days after 

23 the effective date of this Act, the Secretary, Authority and 

24 Authorized Officer shall have completed all policies, proce25 dures, delegations, forms and any other action necessary 


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1 to implement the provisions of this Act and begin proc2 essing claims immediately thereafter. The duties and obli3 gations of, or failure to perform by, the Secretary, Author4 ity, and Authorized Officer within the scope of this sec5 tion, are enforceable by injunction, restraining order and 

6 may result in official and personal civil liability all pursu7 ant to action in any Federal District Court. 

8 SEC. 8. FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 

9 1976 AND ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST 

10 LANDS CONSERVATION ACT. 

11 Nothing in this Act is intended, or shall be construed, 

12 to affect, change, alter, or modify title V of FLPMA or 

13 title XI of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conserva14 tion Act (16 U.S.C. 3161 et seq.). 

15 SEC. 9. RULES AND REGULATIONS. 

16 Any final rule or regulation of any agency of the Fed17 eral Government pertaining to the recognition, manage18 ment, or validity of a rights-of-way pursuant to R.S. 2477 

19 may take effect without further express authorization by 

20 an Act of Congress subsequent to the date of enactment 

21 of this Act. 

22 SEC. 10. EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN LANDS. 

23 Nothing in this Act shall apply to or effect use of 

24 land by the Department of Defense or lands the use of 

25 which is shared with the Department of Defense. 


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1 SEC. 11. REPEAL OF RESTRICTIONS ON REGULATIONS. 

2 Section 108 of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropria3 tions Act, 1997 (110 Stat. 3009–200), related to Revised 

4 Statute 2477, is hereby repealed. 

Æ 


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